State and York County reach agreement for mosquito control at Grafton Ponds

(RICHMOND, VA) -- The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and
York County Department of Environmental and Developmental Services reached an
agreement for mosquito control at the Grafton Ponds Natural Area Preserve. After
site visits and meetings with York County mosquito control officials, other
local officials and Virginia Department of Health officials, a standard was
determined that protects public safety as well as the sensitive natural resources
at Grafton Ponds.

York County approved this standard, well within its normal operating procedure
for larvicide treatment. The standard uses the county-recommended larval count
of 25 or more larvae combined with water levels at Grafton Ponds, based upon
a representative surveillance pond.

Larvicide will be applied to the ponds when county officials determine it is
necessary under the standard. This number and methodology was based on recommendations
from York County and the Virginia Department of Health.

"We have come to a workable compromise that addresses both environmental
concerns and the interests of Edgehill residents," stated Jim Rindfleisch,
York County Department of Environmental and Developmental Services.

DCR's initial actions resulted from raising the bar on when control would start.
The department based the intent upon U.S. Center for Disease Control Guidelines
and natural resources concerns.
Joseph H. Maroon, newly appointed agency director at DCR, asked his staff to
revise its guidelines to ensure early prevention is a key part of plan. DCR
staff has been working on this for the past two weeks.

"DCR and York County together will take preventive action that mosquito
control officials deem necessary to address public concerns and safety, and
meet DCR's conservation mission," Maroon said.

Because the dry year has resulted in mostly empty ponds at the Grafton Ponds
Natural Area Preserve, they are not supporting mosquito larvae. According to
onsite surveys by York County officials, ponds with no water don't have enough
larvae to warrant applying larvicide under normal operating procedures. In other
words, York County would not have treated the ponds to-date this year because
of the low numbers of larvae present.

Tom Smith, DCR Natural Heritage division director, noted that previous articles
focused on the connection between chemical mosquito control and endangered species.
However, DCR is most concerned for the continuing functioning of the natural
system. At an appropriate time, a level of mosquito control determined by technical
experts serves citizens' health interests and can be accomplished while also
protecting sensitive ecological resources.